


Revelations

by LadyNyoko, RBnC



Series: Forever Is A Long Time [3]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M, breakdowns, emotional breakdowns, sam and tucker fuck up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNyoko/pseuds/LadyNyoko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RBnC/pseuds/RBnC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two weeks after moving in with Vlad and establishing their relationship, Danny finally gets back in contact with his friends. But they're less than happy to hear Danny's good news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place 10 years after the show. Phantom Planet never happened. Danny is 25. If you have any questions, send them to us at FIALT-blog.tumblr.com.

Danny stretches and shifts his center of balance as he leans backwards. He expertly lands on his hands in a perfect bridge. He barely notices when his shirt rides up. Or falls down, depending on your perspective.

A little more than two weeks had passed since Danny had started dating Vlad and the younger Halfa was almost completely moved in. He and Ricki were still arguing over a few pieces of furniture. But other than furniture and decorations, all of Danny's belongings were in Vlad's house.

It still felt too odd to call it 'their' house, no matter houw much Vlad insisted.

Danny shifts his center of balance and he lifts his feet from the floor to bring himself to a handstand.

He does this every morning. Usually while Vlad cooks breakfast. The first few days, the older Halfa had, indeed, watched him and it frazzled Danny to no end. But now he found it was a good means to mess with the older Halfa.

He lets his legs fall in the opposite direction than he'd lifted them and they mutely land on the soft floor. He stands and stretches his arms above his head.

****

Vlad had been just a little bit surprised by how easily he'd settled into having Daniel living with him.

It had turned into routine so easily. Sure, he'd watched the other halfa do yoga the first couple days before he realized he could use his time more wisely. And he did still occasionally watch when he made simpler breakfasts.

Based on his boyfriend's personal tastes, he'd slowly begun to expand his recipe collection to include plenty of cold dishes as well, although finding actual meal ideas that weren't desserts had been a little bit tricky. But he'd embraced plenty of concepts in his years, and the breakfast smoothie was hardly the worst of them.

(Although he was quite adamant about french fries and milkshakes. There were some things that just weren't meant to mix.)

He shook his head as he moved into the living room, sipping his own morning beverage with every intention to bring Daniel his.

****

Danny can feel Vlad coming nearer - as he always does, the man brought a rise in temperature wherever he went - and gets a wicked idea in his head.

He easily lays down and places his arms flat against the floor. He easily lifts his legs into the air, followed by his torso. Eventually, the only part of him touching the floor is his head, his neck, his shoulders, and his arms.

He tilts his body, controlling his legs’ descent over his head until his toes touch the floor.

He waits for the door to open and, very slowly, he lowers his body more until his knees hit the carpet beneath him.

****

 There were many things that Vlad had gotten accustomed to.

Waking up with a second person is his bed. Cooking for two. Spending the evenings finding new ways to entertain Daniel...

But this? This was new.

He choked on a sip of his drink, spluttering and coughing as he walked in. He'd known Daniel was flexible. There were plenty of advanced poses he'd witnessed, but this was beyond even his wildest imagination. Was he always able to bend himself like that, or did it have something to do with his half-ghost abilities?

Now that was a real mystery.

"We're having protein smoothies this morning, unless you'd like something else?"

He tried to keep his voice level. He really did. But there was just the slightest difference in tone that he was positive had given him away - as if his initial reaction hadn't already.

****

 Danny smirks as Vlad nearly chokes on his drink. He flips his center of gravity so he rolls and only stops when he sits on his feet.

"That's fine, thanks. Care to join me?"

****

Vlad leveled Daniel with a relatively mild glare, moving over to hand his smoothie off to him.

"Breakfast first. Then... Well, why not."

It wouldn't exactly be the first time he'd done yoga, but it had been quite some time.

****

 Danny takes the smoothie and downs almost half of it in one go.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle and ease you into it."

****

 It wasn't much longer until Vlad had finished his own, and he set the empty cup aside before stretching briefly. Just enough to loosen himself up - and it was probably a good thing he hadn't gotten dressed yet today. He imagined he wouldn't have much room to maneuver in his suit.

"Now what ever gave you the impression you needed to be gentle?"

****

 Danny laughs, "I'll keep that in mind for a later date."

He slams the rest of his smoothie before putting it aside.

Danny easily goes through his beginning routine again. Sun Salutation, Downward Facing Dog, the works. He tries to guide Vlad through it with as soothing a voice as possible.

****

 Luckily enough, the beginner poses weren't particularly unfamiliar to Vlad.

Under Daniel's instruction, it was rather easy to fall into the appropriate rhythm, his breathing slowing and becoming deeper as he moves into each pose. By the time they're about five poses into it, it had become clear that the older halfa had some experience.

Perhaps he wasn't as rusty as he thought. Like riding a bicycle, and all that.

****

As they continue through the poses, Danny can see that Vlad has some experience. So he easily switches from beginner poses to intermediate poses. With each move, he stretches his body farther and farther, not feeling the kind of pull and burn that he'd felt when he'd started.

****

The switch to intermediate was about when Vlad started to feel the pull. He wasn't quite limber enough for some of the advanced poses without a little cheating, which he figured defeated the purpose. But the stretch was more than satisfying, and he still somehow made his effort look rather natural.

****

 Danny watches as Vlad starts straining. Any normal teacher or friend would start doing cool down stretches. Danny, however, starts doing some of his more insane poses. He easily slides into a forward/backward split and holds onto the ankle of the leg behind him.

****

It wasn't particularly difficult for Vlad to see precisely what Daniel had gotten up to. As soon as he noticed the other halfa sliding into a pose he knew he wouldn't be able to do, he eased into his own cool down stretches. He'd watched the other man go through them often enough to be familiar with them, and they came back to him pretty easily once he started.

Perhaps he should make a habit of morning yoga. Even with his boyfriend trying to show off, it was very relaxing.

****

Danny goes through all of his most advanced poses as Vlad goes through his cool down. He's trying to show off, he's not going to lie. He hadn't planned on his shirt riding up on a lot of them, but hey, bonus points.

He just hopes Vlad's as turned on as he'd been that night two weeks ago at the pool.

****

Vlad knew Daniel was trying to show off. He knew that.

And somehow that didn't help him all that much.

His cool down gave him something to focus on, but as soon as that was done he had nothing to watch but the other man. He couldn't even hope to tear his eyes away. Even if he'd seen him do yoga a million times before today, even if he knew precisely how well sculpted he was under his shirt, none of it could help him.

He blamed the noises he was making. Vlad wasn't even certain he was aware of them, but the older halfa was, and rather keenly at that.

Eventually he had no choice but to attempt deep breaths to calm himself, which... Backfired rather spectacularly when a particularly harsh exhale through his nose came out as smoke rather than just air.

So much for not letting Daniel notice.

****

Danny, who is doing a modified bridge laughs and falls from his pose, "What was that?"

He starts laughing at Vlad's embarrassed face. Oh his boyfriend was too cute.

****

"That was my cue to leave."

And leave he did. He was in desperate need of a cold shower after that. Ice cold, perhaps. (He really hoped Daniel didn't figure out just what that particular display of power meant.)


	2. Chapter 2

Danny lays there, confused and disappointed, as he stares at the door Vlad went through.

But he doesn't stay that way for long as his phone rings. He gets up and goes over to his phone.

The caller ID says Unknown Name so he's a bit hesitant to pick it up but he does, "Hello?"

"Hey, Danny!"

"Sam?"

"Sorry about the no contact thing, you would not believe how hectic the last month was."

"Hi, Danny!" Tucker calls from somewhere in the background.

"So how have you been? We need a full status update." Sam laughs.

"Um...I take it something happened to your phone?"

"Yeah, actually, why?"

"I, uh, I've been trying to contact you two for a while now."

“Yeah? About what?”

There’s a bit of shuffling before Danny can hear the background better. Sam must have put him on speaker phone.

“Are you guys alone?”

“Of course.”

“I…um…I don’t know how to say this. So I’m gonna blurt it all out?” He fiddles with his tank top, “So like two weeks ago I was having dinner with Vlad and we kind of got talking and there were a few confessions and we might have started dating and I agreed to move in with him.”

Silence rings out on the other end.

“Is…is this a joke?” Both of his friends ask.

“No, not a joke. Very real.”

“YOU’RE SLEEPING WITH VLAD?” Tucker practically screams.

“No!” Danny hisses, embarrassed, “Not yet. We kind of agreed to wait.”

“Mr. One Night Stand agreed to wait?” Tucker asks as if he didn’t believe him for a second.

“Yes. Vlad said he didn’t want to rush things.”

“Okay we need to back up.” Sam interrupts, “Not only are you dating Vlad Plasmius, you are also living with him? And he’s paying your tuition. And for every little thing you could ever want or need.”

Danny feels a pit start growing in his stomach, “Well, when you put it like that -”

“It sounds like you’ve got a sugar daddy.” Danny can hear Tucker turning his nose up.

“It’s not like that.” Danny hisses, “Look, we talked it out -”

“Sounds like Vlad’s silver tongue has you believing him again. I never trusted him, Danny. You should get out of there.”

“Would you guys listen to me?” Danny wants to wail, he can feel it building in his chest, “We care about each other. We really do.”

“I’m sure he said so.” Sam says, “Just like he told you he got over his thing for your mom.”

That hurts, “Sam, it’s not-”

“Like that?” Tucker makes a rude noise, “Dude, you’re being manipulated.”

“And you two aren’t listening.” Danny snaps, “I love him.”

“We know you’re fawning over him, Danny, but this isn’t love. You thought you loved Paulina, remember?”

“No, I wanted in her pants. I love Vlad Masters.” He balls his free hand into a fist, “I never questioned either of your guy’s feelings.”

“Because we weren’t making heart eyes at an evil master mind!”

“HE’S NOT EVIL!” Danny yells.

He sighs and shakes his head, “He’s not evil. And if neither of you are going to try and listen to me when I talk, I think this call is done.” He hangs up and gently places his phone on the nearest surface.

He’s glad he’s in a gym. If he can’t wail without destroying something, then he’ll work out his rage in a more physical way.

In the short span of twenty minutes, Danny has nearly wrecked Vlad’s gym. The weight bags have been exploded, the heavy weights are all over, and frost has gone everywhere, breaking every piece of machinery in the room.

But he’s still angry.

He flies upwards and hides in one of the guest bedrooms. His anger fades and he’s left with their words and his own company.

_‘Maybe they were right.’_

****

Vlad beat a hasty retreat back up to his room, and while he regretted abandoning Daniel he felt it was better than the alternative. He had plans for their first time together, and he wasn't about to let his own hormones ruin them. He only hoped the other halfa would forgive him for it later.

Just as well that he'd retreated, anyway. His day was about to start properly and he did need to take a shower, even if it would have to be a cold one.

Of course, cold was a relative term when it came to Vlad. Anything below ninety was a bit brisk, below eighty was chilly, below seventy was cold, and below sixty was downright freezing. It took a delicate touch to find the proper balance between erection wilting and freezing pain.

Somehow, in the time Daniel had been here, Vlad had mastered that delicate touch.

He shuddered when he finally stepped into the shower, allowing the cold water to pelt down onto his heated skin until it had numbed more than just physical sensation. From there, it was rather simple to fall back into a fairly routine shower.

A meticulous wash and a quick scrub of his hair sent purple suds swirling down the drain before he had finally stepped out onto the bathmat. He followed it up with his typical routine. Brushing his teeth, trimming his beard, and combing his hair out among various other maintenance necessities.

And it was as he was pulling on his suit that he realized something was amiss.

While it was cool in the bathroom, it was unusually cool in the rest of the house. As in a display of Daniel's ghost power cool.

He frowned before moving to seek the other halfa out. Hopefully he hadn't gone too far.

****

Danny sits in one of Vlads’ guest bedrooms trying desperately to get his powers under control. Half of Vlad's house is covered in a sheet of ice and Danny knows how much the cold hurts Vlad.

_'Stop it, stop it, stop it, you're hurting him!'_

He doesn't make a noise as he sits in the farthest corner of the room and tries to reason away Sam and Tucker's harsh words.

****

 The temperature was steadily dropping, and Vlad knew it was only a matter of time before the heat of his core could no longer stave it off. Still that didn't stop him from shivering when he finally managed to find the room Daniel had holed himself up in.

It hadn't been difficult. The ice was spreading from somewhere, and as he'd gotten closer he'd eventually needed to begin floating to avoid slipping. If only that were the only complication he'd run into.

The door was frozen shut. Which meant phasing through it. And phasing through a solid sheet of ice took a hell of a lot out of him. By the time he'd pass through it was a struggle just to keep his teeth from chattering, but he tried to hide it as he moved to place a warm (although slightly less warm than usual) hand on the other halfa's shoulder.

"Daniel? Is something wrong?"

****

 "No," Danny bites out, finding solace in his sarcasm, "Just thought I'd freeze you to death."

He buries his face in his hands.

"I talked to Sam and Tucker."

****

Vlad sighed, crouching to sit on the ice and gently pulling Daniel into his arms with a barely suppressed shudder.

"I'm guessing that didn't go well, hm?"

It pained him to imagine that it hadn't, but the evidence was relatively clear. The halfa wouldn't be slowly freezing his house if it had.

****

He wants to accept Vlad's affections like he had been for the past two weeks. He shakes his head and tries to pull away from Vlad.

"They were right, this isn't going to work. This isn't right." Tears slips down his face, "It's not right."

****

 Vlad wouldn't let Daniel go so easily. Whatever his friends said had clearly affected him, and he persisted with his grip. But he was careful to keep his touch gentle. If the other halfa put up much more than a token struggle, it would be easy for him to break free.

"Is that you talking, or what you think you should be saying?" His breath was coming out misty due to the cold, and another shiver made its way down his spine. "Daniel, if you want to talk about us, I'm all ears. But let it be because you want to talk. Not because someone else has convinced you that you should."

****

Danny cries, making little broken noises as Vlad pulls him closer.

He cracks, telling Vlad everything that his friends had said to him. Told him about how they only played on his own fears.

Could Vlad just be using him for physical comfort? Could he be using Danny as a surrogate? Could Vlad only see him as a whore, only here to do what Vlad wants and get paid?

He feels horrible for saying them, but they were legitimate fears. One's he'd held close and played off.

The ice around them doesn’t creep out but it doesn't recede, either.

****

The noises coming from Daniel made Vlad's chest ache - that or the cold air. He really couldn't be certain anymore.

He pressed closer, gently tucking the other halfa's face against his neck and doing his best to hide his misty breath. Or anything else that might give away the chill that was beginning to creep into his veins.

But Daniel's fears needed to come first. They had to if they had any hope of resolving this.

"Daniel... Badger... I swear to you on my life that I would never use you like that. You're not just something to fill some void in my life. I love you for who you are, and would no matter what. You are the most noble man I've met, and if it weren't for you..."

He swallowed down a lump that had lodged in his throat, burying his nose into the other man's hair.

"If it weren't for you, I would still be filling my life with nothing but spite and anger. You saved me from more than you realize. I think of you as a hero, and nothing less." And infinitely more.

He wasn't sure what else he could say to reassure him. For all the more he'd finally begun to socialize these past years, there was only so much he could say.

****

Danny clenches his eyes shut. He could feel Vlad shivering from the cold.

"I'm so sorry." Danny mutters over and over again as he pulls all of the frost out of the house. It takes an immense amount of concentration, but he gets the room back to more Vlad friendly temperatures.

"I was so stupid...I just - they said those things and I -" He chokes on his words and clings to Vlad.

****

 There was a soft sigh of relief as the temperature slowly began to rise, although it would be a few minutes before Vlad was able to stop shivering entirely.

"Daniel, don't apologize." He shifted to run a hand through the other halfa's hair, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. Truthfully, he wanted to strangle the man's friends for putting these thoughts in his head, but he imagined that wouldn't go over well.

"You trust them. Their thoughts are bound to weigh heavily on you, even if they are tragically misguided."

****

 Danny controls his breathing, if only barely, and whispers against Vlad's chest, "Are you tired of reassuring me yet?"

He's trying to lighten the mood even if the tears haven't stopped falling and his body temperature hasn't risen past roughly thirty degrees.

****

 "Not yet. You'll have to try harder than this to chase me off."

Vlad smiled, continuing to stroke his hands through Daniel's hair. He was an undeniably cold presence against his chest, but he didn't dare let him go. Not until he was certain he felt better.

****

 "I'm sorry. They were saying things that I was already afraid of. I let them get to me and I hurt you."

A yawn forces its way out of Danny's mouth. It's not even noon and he's ready to sleep for the rest of the day. But he has things to do. At the very least he should take a shower.

****

"Daniel, you don't need to apologize. I'll be fine."

He shifted after a moment, gently lifting the other halfa into his arms and getting back to his feet. Anxiety attacks like that could take a lot out of someone, and given how much of Daniel's power had leaked out he imagined the other man was exhausted. It would probably be for the best if he got some rest.

"How about a personal day? I'll make sure everything is taken care of, and you can get some rest."

****

 Danny is a little embarrassed that Vlad is carrying him and a little more embarrassed that he's being so compassionate.

"You don't need to do that, Vlad. I'll be fine."

He doesn't want to leave Vlad's arms. He wants to stay with his boyfriend. He wants to fall asleep in Vlad's arms.

He almost does. The older mans' scent doing wonders to calm him down.

****

"You just had a rather serious anxiety attack. A little self-care is in order."

But while there was a hint of admonishment in his voice, Vlad's tone was gentle. He moved Daniel back into their bedroom, gently laying him down on the bed. It only took a moment to see him settled under the sheets, and he sat next to him to gently run his fingers through the other halfa's hair.

"Do you need anything? Aspirin, water, maybe a snack?"

****

"A shower. Maybe something to eat." He fidgets, "I can do those things myself, Vlad."

****

"How about a compromise. You can shower while I get you something to eat. Then it'll be waiting for you by the time you're done."

Vlad smiled at him, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips before reluctantly getting up to leave the room. As much as he hated just leaving Daniel in this state, he knew that hovering over him wouldn't help either. The other halfa still felt guilty for accepting any help from him, even when he clearly needed it.

But the distance had an advantage. While Daniel might assume Vlad was busying himself with preparing a feast, the reality was he'd stopped by the decimated gym to retrieve his phone. The latest call was an unknown number - presumably his friends - and he dialed it up as he made his way to the kitchen.

He could multitask quite easily.

****

Danny sighs, forcing himself to not ask Vlad to just stay with him. He couldn't just...monopolize Vlad's time.

The second Vlad is gone, he's up out of the bed. He grabs a change of clothes from the drawers and makes his way over to the bathroom.

He strips, peeling the clothes off of his body. They're slightly frozen in some places just like he is.

He turns on the water and gets it to the hottest temperature he can handle. Which is around sixty five degrees, roughly, and it _burns_.

But he likes the heat and he quickly sets about cleaning himself from head to toe. It's a slow process, but he gets it done.

Once he deems himself clean, Danny gets out of the shower. He contemplates relaxing in the bath, but he figures it wouldn't be good if he fell asleep and accidently drowned.

So he dries himself off and gets dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top. Then he goes back into his and Vlad's room and lies down in the bed, waiting for Vlad to come back.

_'I don't know if I can bring myself to eat anything.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @~@ I am terrible at updating.

Vlad wasn't particularly surprised by how long the phone kept ringing. Based on the state he'd found Daniel in, he imagined his first conversation with his friends in months had gone... Well, poorly for lack of a better term.

But it gave him plenty of time to get to the kitchen and begin to make something for the other halfa. Given the stress, something light would be best. And cold for the sake of comfort... Vichyssoise would be a good choice, he imagined.

It required a little bit of cooking, but even if he delivered it to Daniel lukewarm the other halfa could cool it the rest of the way without it affecting the flavor.

****

"Hello, Danny. Are you done throwing a tantrum?"

****

Vlad had just begun peeling potatoes when he heard the line connect. He shifted his shoulder slightly to bring the phone closer to his ear, cradling against his shoulder as he cubed the potato he'd just finished peeling.

"Try an anxiety attack."

There was precious little inflection in his tone. He'd deadpanned the words, and it was difficult not to let anger bleed into his tone.

****

"...Vlad? Why do you have Danny's phone. And what do you mean 'anxiety attack'?"

****

"I retrieved his phone from the gym after getting him settled in our room."

Really, it was a small wonder it hadn't been damaged. The rest of the room was a wreck and it would take at least a week to patch up the damage that had been done. Of course, the damage hadn't been what concerned him - it was the emotional state Daniel had been in to cause such damage in the first place.

He shifted, moving on to the remainder of the vegetables he needed to prepare.

"And I mean precisely what I said. Daniel had an anxiety attack following his conversation with you. He inadvertently froze half the house, and was well on his way to a full blown meltdown by the time I got to him. I do hope you're proud of yourselves for that."

Alright, perhaps that was a little unwarranted, but he couldn't help the vindictive jab.

****

Sam pauses, "Okay I'm going to tackle this one problem at a time. Is Danny okay now? And I can't believe I'm asking this, but I know what the cold does to you, so are you okay? Danny didn't hurt you?"

She knows Danny would never let himself live it down if he hurt Vlad

****

"He's alright. He's in the shower, and I'm working on soup to help replenish all the energy he just drained."

As if to punctuate his words he shifted to scrape the chopped vegetables into the pot that was already heated up on the stove. Thankfully the particular recipe he'd chosen wasn't one that required spending a great deal of time on the stove, but he only hoped he could be done and back to their room by the time Daniel was out of the shower.

But the question about his own wellbeing took him by surprise. He faltered slightly, the spoon he was stirring with clanging against the side of the pot before he recovered. He'd hardly expected Sam to care, even with Daniel's involvement.

"I'll be fine. The cold didn't fully penetrate my core, so it's just a matter of getting my temperature back to normal. There won't be any lasting damage."

But it was a dodge of a full answer. While he'd said he'd be fine, he'd never explicitly said that Daniel hadn't hurt him. He was still chilled and there was an uncomfortable tightness in his chest from breathing the cold air, both of which were things he could hide well enough.

****

Sam chooses her next words carefully, "We were just...After everything you've done. To Danny. To us. To a lot of people. We just...we're scared that Danny will get hurt. That you'll be the one to hurt him."

"And you can't tell us that our fears are unfounded. No matter how much you change, or claim to change, you did those things."

"How do we know you aren't going to betray Danny? How do we know you're not using him as a surrogate for his mom?"

"HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN," Tucker yells from the side, "HE SAID HE WASN"T GOING TO LET ANYTHING HAPPEN BETWEEN YOU TWO!"

****

"You needn't remind me of what I've done."

Vlad was surprised by the lack of bitterness in his voice. His grip tightened briefly as he stirred, before he let out a soft sigh.

"I've never tried to make excuses for all the things I've done to all of you. They were wrong, and I'm aware of that. Even if I can't convince you, I do have regrets."

He paused, trying to decide just where he should start. Out of all the conversations he'd had with Sam and Tucker, it seemed they were the most open to listening now. Perhaps it was time for explanations.

"Would you two be willing to hear me out? You have every right not to listen, but I'd be grateful if you would."

****

"Hold on," Sam moves the phone away from her and presses the mouth piece against her chest.

She argues with Tucker about listening. After a minute of low whispers, she brings the phone back up to her ear, "We're willing. On one condition. You have to tell us why. Why Danny?"

****

"Because I love him."

It was such an easy response, although he imagined it wouldn't quite be enough. But the why wasn't something they would understand until they listened.

"You remember Spectra?"

He cut off any protests about his not quite answer, pouring stock into the pot until he received confirmation from the two on the other end of the line.

"She's always been quite skilled at avoiding detection. It was no different when I first met her, although I wasn't quite of a mind to notice ghosts back then."

He tried to keep his voice level, but there was just the slightest crack. Even now, even having come to terms with what had been done to him, it was... Difficult to talk about.

"She came to me not even a day after I'd been hospitalized by the accident. Jack and Maddie had seen me that far, but the staff had wanted me quarantined until they were certain my condition wasn't contagious. No one thought twice about a mental health specialist interacting with a quarantined patient - isolation was never good for the mind, so taking an early interest under the guise of preventative measures was an easy excuse."

There was bitterness, then. Although he wasn't sure precisely what it was directed at.

"You know what she did to your school in just a week. Now imagine for just one moment what she would do in that situation. She had a young man in almost complete isolation, suffering from an unknown affliction caused by an accident that two of his best friends had been part of."

It had taken so long to stop blaming them. Jack could be careless, but the harm hadn't been intentional.

"When the quarantine was lifted, she intercepted all of their efforts to contact me. Visits were turned away with excuses about my fragile state. Letters were returned. The only piece of mail that ever made it through to me was a mass printed invitation to their wedding."

And that had been the worst part. Spectra had known exactly where to hit him to keep him down.

"For years, I thought they'd abandoned me. For years I filled the void their absence had left with bitterness and anger. And it was only by chance that Daniel found all those letters that had been returned, stuffed in some box in his attic. He turned them over to me and I..."

Vlad's voice cracked, and he had to swallow the lump in his throat, ignoring the pressure building behind his eyes as he set the soup to a low simmer.

"All that anger, and finally I knew the truth. They had never abandoned me. How could I continue to be angry when it had never been their fault?"

He sighed, leaning against the counter.

"I apologized to them. We started spending time together, and I got to know them all over again. You'd be surprised how much twenty five years can change a person."

There was a wry twist to his lips as he continued.

"The Maddie I had always loved wasn't the same Maddie I got to know all over again. We have a wonderful friendship, and I do love her dearly, but my feelings for her aren't romantic in the least."

And that led into the final explanation. To smooth over their most pressing questions. Why Daniel, if he was not just some substitute for his mother?

"Daniel's action saved me. From years of anger, from myself. I owe him so much. It was respect, at first. I didn't grow to love him as I do now until after I moved here and we started spending more time together."

****

"I...Danny never told us about Spectra. He always said you'd had your reasons, but he'd never tell us."

Tucker chimes in, "I hate that woman. If she can be called that. I can't imagine how you feel about her."

Sam interrupts, "I...I want to believe you. About you loving Danny. I do. You make him ridiculously happy. Even before you two started not-fucking. But if you hurt him, Vlad, I will trap you in the Fenton Thermos and throw you into the Challenger Deep. Do you understand me?"

****

"I imagine he thought it was my story to tell."

Vlad couldn't help but indulge in a small smile, and he turned off the stove before moving to pour the softened vegetables and stock into a food processor. A quick purée and an addition of some cold cream and the soup was ready for Daniel.

"But I imagine you'll have to wait on that until Jasmine gets through with me."

Although his voice was teasing, he did nothing to make light of the threat. It was a simple matter of fact. Jasmine would be the first in line - likely with the Fenton Peeler - and Daniel's best friends would come next.

****

Sam groans and makes a disgusted noise in her throat.

"This means we have to play nice and try to like you." Her next statement is more to Tucker than to Vlad, "This is going to be just like Damien."

Tucker's voice is like venom, "If this turns out like Damien, I'm killing Vlad."

"Agreed." She turns her attention back to Vlad, "Tell Danny we said we're sorry. And we'll try to keep in contact."

There's a beat of silence, "Do his parents know?"

****

"If you're willing to stay on the phone for another minute, you might be able to tell him yourself if he's up to talking."

The mention of someone else has him curious, but he makes no effort to pry about it. Instead he prepares a bowl of lukewarm soup for Daniel before making his way back upstairs.

"Not yet. However, Jasmine does."

****

"We'd like that. And good. At least Jazz knows. Have you talked about how you're going to break it to his parents? What about the press??"

****

"We were thinking of inviting them up for spring break and telling them in person."

Vlad opened the door to their room, offering Daniel a smile and handing the bowl of soup over to him.

"As for the press... Well, they can figure out on their own. We don't plan on making any effort to hide it, so a public announcement isn't really necessary."

****

Danny looks up as soon as Vlad walks in the door. When he sees Vlad on his phone, his heart sinks.

Vlad hands him a bowl of lukewarm soup and Danny takes it as the older man speaks into the phone.

He can hear Sam's voice over the phone, "That makes sense. But is it really a smart idea to invite them over and tell them? It'd be safer to visit them, wouldn't it?"

Danny's stomach churns. How can she be having a civil conversation with Vlad after everything she'd said to him not two hours earlier?

Danny messes with the soup, wondering what it is.

It smells like potato soup, but it's so cold. Not by his standards, but he can still tell.

****

"Typically Daniel doesn't return home for short holidays, so a visit from the both of us would raise red flags before we even arrived. And beyond that, do you really think it's wise for me to visit them in their highly weaponized house to tell them I'm dating their son?"

He wasn't going to count on a completely peaceful reaction, even if he did think Daniel's parents would be supportive in the end. He could take a physical beating from Maddie and Jack well enough, but even if he hadn't told them about his own nature as a half-ghost... Well, the less anti-ghost weaponry they had at their disposal, the better.

"But if you'll excuse me one moment..."

He shifted the phone against his shoulder, just enough to muffle his conversation with Daniel.

"It's Vichyssoise. It's meant to be eaten cold, so you're welcome to cool it down more if you want. Would you like to speak to Sam?"

****

Danny wants to snatch the phone and yell obscenities before throwing it out a window.

Instead he just holds out his hand and waits for Vlad to hand him the phone.

When he does, he places the phone to his ear, "Hello."

More formal then his normal greeting, but he doesn't exactly want to be friendly.

"Hey. I'm sorry." Sam tells him and Danny can hear Tucker parrot the sentiment in the background.

"Apology accepted." He uses his spoon to swirl the soup around.

He freezes the spoon and lets it cool down the soup more.

"We really are, Danny. That was so uncool of us. We just wanted to avoid another situation like dickhead, you know?"

"Yeah."

"If it means that much to you...Tucker and I," she groans like the words are physically hurting her, "will try and get to know him."

"I'd like that."

"Good. Cause you're the only reason we'd ever do it."

****

There was just a moment's debate before Vlad settled down beside Daniel in his bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and gently coaxing him into leaning against him. He couldn't blame the other halfa for the chilly reception. Truthfully, he was surprised Daniel had given a civil greeting at all.

But for all the more one-sided the conversation seemed to be, Vlad also knew that Daniel couldn't remain mad forever. He might need time for his anger to wane, but soon enough it would be like nothing happened.

****

"So...we'll talk later, if you want. Vlad said you had an anxiety attack, so you should probably eat and sleep." There's a small pause, "We're really sorry, Danny. We never meant to hurt you."

"I already told you, apology accepted. And yeah, Vlad gave me some soup, so I'm going to eat it and sleep. Bye." He doesn't wait for her response.

He hangs up and throws the phone down the bed. He keeps playing with his soup, occasionally taking a bite, as he tries to convince himself to take _bigger_ bites.

****

Vlad didn't say a word about how slowly Daniel was eating. The important thing was that he was, regardless of the fact that he'd clearly lost his appetite. Rather, he remained close and gradually shifted closer to the other man until he was close enough to carefully tug him into his lap.

His arms moved to wrap around Daniel's waist, tugging him just a bit closer until he finally rested his head on his shoulder after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

****

Danny lets Vlad pull him close. He leaves the soup behind. He turns in Vlad's lap and buries his face in Vlad's neck.

"Thank you for the food." He whispers as he clings to Vlad's clothes.

"And I'm sorry...for hurting you."

****

Vlad moved to set the half-finished bowl of soup on his side table, tucking his nose into Daniel's hair as he returned his arm around him.

"I'm fine, Daniel. You don't need to apologize."

It only takes a brief wiggle of his hips to scoot further down in the bed, until they were laying back down. He shifted to tug one of the thinner sheets over them while pushing the rest back. Although he could have used the warmth for himself, he didn't want to see Daniel overheating right now.

****

Danny knows how much Vlad needs one of the thicker sheets on their bed right now. And honestly, Danny wants to feel warm right now too.

So he reaches down and pulls the thickest blanket over them and clings to Vlad like a lifeline, making sure his own temperature doesn't drop below fifty degrees.

He feels guilty because that's as hot as he can go but it still must feel like ice to Vlad.

****

Vlad can't help the worried frown when the blanket is pulled back over them.

"Are you sure you won't get too warm?"

Of course, even at his warmest Daniel was still freezing against him. Even more so when his own core was struggling to pull his temperature back up. But short of finding a pool of lava to have a nice soak in, there was little he could do to speed up the process.

****

"I'm sure." Danny murmurs, closing his eyes and laying still. He lays there, trying to kind of meditate.

"Besides, you need this. If I get too cold, just tell me." Danny tells him.

****

Vlad sighed softly at the reply, although he couldn't help but indulge in a soft smile. Put it to Daniel to think of others first.

He settled down rather easily, rubbing absently patterns into the other halfa's skin. While he had no intentions on falling asleep, he found himself beginning to drift off anyway. Perhaps he'd drained more energy than he thought trying to keep his temperature up...

****

Danny waits until he's sure Vlad is asleep before he dares to move. He easily fazes up out of the blankets.

His core temperature is probably killing Vlad right now. Even if it wasn't killing him, it wasn't helping him at all.

He gathers all of the blankets he can find and settles them over Vlad. He thinks about tucking Vlad in briefly before dismissing the idea.

He leaves the room and sets the thermostat a bit higher. Vlad had insisted on turning it down just a bit for Danny. They'd eventually found a happy medium, but Vlad needed the heat.

Danny occupies himself with his laptop for a few hours before passing out on the couch with a throw blanket around him.


End file.
